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A Stirring Journey through Arabic, Mediterranean and Balkan Music

April 12, 2012

By Ziga Pirnat

Artists from the Middle East, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean performed with students from around the world in the annual Middle Eastern Festival on March 12.

The Berklee Performance Center concert, titled Flamenco Today: A Journey through Andalusia, featured assistant professor and festival founder Christiane Karam, as well as Javier Limón, artistic director of Berklee in Valencia's Mediterranean Music Institute and a multi-Grammy and Latin Grammy–winning producer and composer.

The event presented flamenco music—from its Andalusian roots to contemporary trends—and explored the connections between flamenco, Arabic, Mediterranean, and Balkan music, also reflecting the journey gypsies took from India to the Mediterranean. The program consisted of traditional and contemporary pieces, original arrangements created by the ensemble—notably Moira Lo Bianco and Juan Pérez Rodríguez—and classics by flamenco masters Paco de Lucía and Pepe de Lucía. The concert was also a tribute to the music of Enrique Morente, who is known for blending flamenco with other styles.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/berkleevalencia/7070326983/

After a mesmerizing three-hour spectacle that took the audience for a ride through seguiriya, Andalusian sasla, Balkan suite, Mediterranean soundscape, tango flamenco, peroche, and buleria, the performers received standing ovations.